Vehicle wheel



April 28, 1942. H. J. HORN 8 VEHICLE WHEEL Filed Aug. 16, 1941 PatentedApr. 1942 UNITED- STATES PATENT QFFHICEJ- vnmcm wmun.

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alalgnortolilotor Wheel Corporation, Lanslng, men, a corporation of Michigan This invention relates to vehicle wheels, and more particularly to the combination with a wheel member and a cover member of a novel form of spring clip for detachably connecting thecover member toxthe'wheel member.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a construction in which the cover will go on easy and come of! hard-thus preventing accidental dislodgment of the cover. This object is attained primarily by providing the engaging portion of the spring clip with outwardly diverging side edges which bite into the member engaged thereby upon relative movement of the two members away from each, other when in assembled position. v

The objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully app'ear from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a front view in elevation oi a wheel including a wheel member, a cover member and attaching clips, a portion of the cover member being broken away to show the attaching clip;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlargedfragmentary sectional view similar to the section shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of cover construction;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of spring clip construction;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the spring clip shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the spring clip shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4; and

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken/on the line 0-8 of Figure 3.

The construction shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 includes a wheel member ID, a cover member II, and spring clips l2 permanently attached to the wheel member by rivets i3 and detachably engaging the cover member II.

The wheel member a It includes a disk It having a rim l5 secured to the periphery thereof by rivets ii. The central portion of the disk It is dished to form a convex nose portion I! and a radially extending bolting-on flange I8. The wheel member "I is adapted to be mounted ona hub in the usual manner, a conventional hub construction including a brake drum being shown'on dotted lines in Figure 2.

The cover II, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, is in the form of a- .hub cap having its peripheral portion bent inwardly toiorm an annular bead I! located within the dished portion of the wheel disk II and adapted to be engaged by-the spring clips l2.

Each of the spring clips 12 comprises a substantially flat elongated strip of resilient material bent to the configuration shown. Any delized, four beingshown in Figure 1. The details of the spring clip are shown in Figure 'I. It includes a base or attaching portion a, an engaging portion b in the formof a substantially Y- shaped hump, a intermediate body portion c, and a reversely bent free end portion d.

The attaching portion a of the clip I! is permanently connected to the bolting-on flange ll of the wheel member by the rivets II, as previously mentioned. The body portion 0 extends axially and radially outwardly from the base portion, and the engaging portion b is located in close proximity to the adiacent'face oi the wheel disk It.

In mounting the cover on thespring clips the bead I9 is pressed axially inwardly against the outer side of the hump b on the spring clip until the apex of the hump is sprung past the bead. When that has occurred, the bead i9 is located on the inner side of the hump b and the cover is held in position by the resilient engagement of the spring clips. In removing the cover, the bead I9 is pressed axially outwardly against the inner side of the hump 11 until the apex of the hump is sprung past the bead l9.

As'previously stated, the principal object of this invention is to provide aconstruction in which the cover will go on easy and will come ofl hard. Statedin another way, it is desired that a greater force be required in order to remove the cover than is required in order to installthe cover. The construction and arrangement of the parts by which this objectiveis attained will now be described.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the bead 18 engages the'side edges of each oi the spring clips inasmuch as the spring clips are substantially flat and the bead I9 is annular. In order to provide a biting engagement between the side edges ofthe clip and the bead l9 upon relative movement of the cover member away from the wheel member, the width of the clip is reduced adjacent thejunction of the body portion c and the bottom of the hump b, and the side edges are outwardly diverging from that point to near the apex of the hump basbest shown in Figure 7. Consequently, when the cover member is moved to the left from the position shown in Figures 2 and 3 there is'a wedging or progressively greater biting engagement between the outwardly diverging side edges of the clip and the bead l9. whichnecessitates a substantially greater force to remove the cover than is required to install the cover. The relationship between the bead i9 and the outwardly diverging side edges of the clip when the parts I are assembled as in Figures 2 and 3 is shown in Figure 8 and by the dotted line e-e in Figure 7.. In the construction shown in Figure 4 the wheel member'ld and the spring clips I! are exactly the'same as those previously described. However.

the cover member 20 of this construction is some-.

what different than the cover member Ii previously described. In this modification the cover 20 extends radially outwardly toward the rim and there is provided an annular ring 21 permanently secured to the cover adjacent the center thereof. The free edge of ring ii is intumed to provide a bead 22 which cooperates .with .the spring clip I: in exactly the same manner as the bead it of cover Ii. That is to say, the outwardly diverging side edges of the engaging portion of the clips l2 bite into the bead 22' upon a relative movement of the cover 20 away from the wheel member i0.

In the-construction shown in Figure 5 the wheel member In and the cover member II are identical to the corresponding parts shown in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, and heretofore described.-

However, spring clip 23 of this modification differs from the spring clip I! previously described.

The details of the spring clip 23 are shown in Figure 6. It includes a base or attaching portion a, a. hump or engaging portion b, and an intermediate body portion 0. As in the case of the clip II, the clip 23 is formed from an elongated strip of substantially flat resilient mate- As in the case of the spring clip [2, clip 23 is provided with a portion, of reduced width adjacent the base of one side of the hump and the side edges of the clip are outwardly diverging from the point of .reduction to near the apex of the hump. Thus, the outwardly diverging side edges of the clip 23 bite into the head it when the cover member II is moved away from the wheel member l0. The relation between the bead is and the outwardly diverging side edges of the clip, when the parts are in the assembled position illustrated in Fig. 5, are shown by the dotted line 7-4 in Figure 6.

It will'be noted that in both forms of spring clip the outwardly diverging side edges are pro-. vided on'the side ofthe hump remote from the cover. The reason for this arrangement will of course be apparent.

rFrom theforegoing description it will be apparent that while the clips 12 and 23 are of a specificallydiiferent configuration, they nevertheless both embody the same feature of provid ing for a biting engagement with the attaching portion of'the cover member when the cover 1. In combination, a wheel member, a. cover member, and a spring clip having an inboard end and an outboard end, said clip comprising a strip of resilient metal formed to provide an engaging portion near the outboard end thereof, said strip being of gradually decreasing width from near the outboard end to near the inboard end of said engaging portion, the inboard end of said clip being ri idly connected to one of said members,

the outboard end of said clip resiliently engaging the other of said members, said last mentioned member having an annular edge portion contacting the lateral edges of the engaging portion of the clip in the region of the narrowest portion thereof, whereby upon relative movement of the members away from each other the lateral edges of the clip bite into the annular edge of the last mentioned member.

2. In combination, a wheel member, a cover member, and a spring clip' having an inboard end and an outboard end, said clip comprising a strip of resilient material formed to provide a substantially V-shaped hump near theoutboard end thereof, the strip being of gradually decreasing width from near the apex to near the base of *the hump on the inboard side of the hump. the

inboard end of said clip'bein'g rigidly attached to one of said members, the outboard end of said.

clip resiliently engaging the other of said members, said last mentioned member including an annular edge portion contacting the lateral edges of the clip between the apex and the base of the hump on the inboard side thereof. whereby upon relative movement of the members away from each other said lateral edges of the hump bite into said annular edge portion oi the last mentioned member. 1

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein the outboard side of the hump is disposed adjacent the i'ree end of the strip at the outboard end of the clip.

4. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein the inboard side of the hump is disposed adjacent the free end of the strip.

5. A spring clip having an inboard end and an outboard end comprising a strip of resilient metal formed to provide a substantially V shaped hump near the outboard end of the clip, the strip being of gradually decreasing width from near the apex to near the base of the hump on the inboard side thereof.

6. In combination, a wheel member, a cover member, and a spring clip having one end portion member is removed from the wheel member so as is indicated in the rigidly attached to one of said members and the other end extending freely away from the said attached end, said clip comprising a strip of resilient metal formed to provide a generally vshaped hump near the free end thereof, said other member including an annular edge portion adapted to be sprung over th apex of the hump and into engagement with the lateral edges of the clip on the remote side of the bump to detachably connect'the members together, the portion of the strip forming the said remote side of the hump being of gradually decreasing width from near the apex to near the base of the hump, whereby upon relative movement of the members away from each other the lateral edges of the clip bite into said annular edge portion of the last mentioned member.

HARRY J. HORN. 

